From Chicago to Flint to Detroit, the Midwest has been buzzing with activity against injustices from impunity for killer cops to polluted water to underfunded schools.
On Jan. 20th, teachers staged a massive “sick-out” protest that closed 88 of the 100 schools in the Detroit Public School (DPS) system. Teachers are protesting the dire conditions the schools meant to serve and educate children have endured including underfunding, rat infestations, black mold and crumbling buildings.
The deteriorating conditions of DPS have occurred under “emergency management”. The strike and sick-out protests have been happening over the last few months as a response to the lack of resources, lack of public accountability and incessant school closures.
Darnell Earley is currently the emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools, and (shocker) he is the same emergency manager who presided over the water contamination in Flint. He was the same person that made the decision to stop using the same water source as Detroit and instead use polluted water from the Flint River to save a few dollars at the expense of the poor and working people of Flint, Michigan, a majority Black city.
Detroit News reported on Monday that school inspection documents were released that detailed the “mold and rodent abatement, and heating and electrical repairs” needed in DPS.
The massive sick-out took place at the same time that Obama visited Detroit and praised the success of the auto industry. The success of big business in Detroit and efforts towards privatization have reaped little benefits for the people of Detroit as DPS faces a shutdown as early as April due to lack of funds. A DPS shutdown could mean staff and teachers would not be paid.
What little money does go into DPS does not go to pay the staff that remains or provide resources for students nor to repair buildings. Instead, the money is diverted to investors and contractors, according to Russ Bellant, an education advocate in Detroit.
Last year, there was international attention brought to the fact that thousands of homes in Detroit had their water cut off. In a city where about 42% of the population receives food stamps and jobs are scarce, the city expects people to pay for a basic right like water. While the issue has faded from the bourgeois media, the issue remains that thousands of Detroiters continue to struggle to survive without water, a fundamental human right.
When Obama talks about the success of the auto industry in Detroit, he highlights the priority and allegiance of a capitalist system – profit for business at the expense of people’s needs and survival.
Lessons from Chicago: Student-Teacher Solidarity
On Jan. 26, dozens of students organized a walkout in solidarity with the teachers protesting Detroit Public Schools. This comes at the heels of a judge’s decision to deny the school district’s request to impose a temporary restraining order to force teachers to end the sickout protest. In addition, this comes after Michigan Governor Snyder’s legislative push to punish and monetarily penalize striking teachers.
In 2012, Chicago public school teachers went on strike for over a week, garnered support from about 66% of CPS parents, and were joined by parents, students and community members on the picket lines. The Chicago teacher strike sought to improve the contract and school conditions, and demand an end to corporate reform and the privatization of public schools in one of the largest districts in the country.
Teachers striking for improving the conditions of schools unites the needs of the teachers as workers with the social and economic needs of the community. Fighting with the community also has the potential of raising the consciousness of students as the hashtag #DPSstudentsFightBack and the student solidarity strike demonstrates.
Imani Harris, a student at Renaissance High School, explained her solidarity with teachers as printed in the Detroit Metrotimes. “As I looked into them I have learned that I agree with everything these teachers stand for and I stand with them. Class sizes are too large, teaching conditions are horrible in some schools, and we barely have any resources. Things need to change, and we won’t stop until they do.”
The capitalist system has how proven yet again that education is not a priority, nor is the health and safety of students from poor and oppressed communities. The solidarity of teachers, students and community members is the only force that can overcome the brutality of politicians who cater to the interest of big business in their never-ending quest for profit. Standing with students means standing with the teachers fighting for their rights.
